The effect of stress on circadian rhythms

The authors chose four types of intensive stress in man and show their effect on the circadian rhythms of selected parameters. Sleep deprivation reduces mean sideraemia and oscilation amplitudes. The morning rhythm maximum shifts to early morning hours. Acute fasting does not change the biorhythm of serum iron despite that mean sideraemia increases. On the other hand, realimentation is associated with a marked drop of iron level and a shift of the morning maximum to early afternoon hours. Stress induced by isolation in humid warm environment initiates a decrease of systolic blood pressure. While biorhythm amplitude remains unchanged peak systolic pressure moves from the usual 18 to 20 hours up to 23 to 24 hours. Stress caused by diagnostic cardiac catheterization results in biorhythm inversion of the urinary excretion of catecholamines and 17-OH-corticoids. On the day of catheterization, performed in all cases in the morning hours, the usual morning peak values of adrenaline shifted to afternoon hours and those of noradrenaline and 17-OH-corticoids even to late night hours. For practical purposes, biorhythm changes can be used as indicators of the effect and intensity of stress.